EU Commission publishes 2023 Annual Report on food safety alerts and agri-food fraud investigations

On September 16, 2024, the European Commission published its 2023 report on the Alert and Cooperation Network, which facilitates cooperation and information exchange between Member States on official controls in the agri-food chain. The report reveals a significant increase in notifications compared to 2022 – a sign of the growth in cooperation between Member States in this area. The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) facilitates the rapid exchange of information between food safety authorities on health risks related to food, feed, or food contact materials. In 2023 there was an 8% rise in RASFF notifications, with 4695 notifications. As in previous years, the most reported issue in RASFF concerned pesticide residues, followed closely by pathogenic micro-organisms. The top notifying countries continued to be Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. The Administrative Assistance and Cooperation component (AAC) allows Member States to notify the EU of food safety legislation violations that do not constitute a health risk. In 2023 there was a 24% increase in AAC notifications, with 3166 notifications. The Agri-Food Fraud Network (FFN) registered a 26% rise in notifications, with 758 fraud suspicions. The illegal trade of cats and dogs remained a major issue, with 414 notifications. Other suspicions related to meat substitution, honey adulteration, and mislabelled olive oil. Additionally, 1075 AAC notifications and 1625 RASFF notifications were flagged as potential fraud, prompting deeper inspections or investigations by Member States. @ https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/sante/items/847722/en